---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mahound comes to me for revelation…"
description: "\"“Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose between monotheist and henotheist alternatives, and I'm just some idiot actor having a bhaench..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg"
---

#  Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose…

![“Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose between monotheist and henotheist alternatives, and I'm just some idiot actor having a bhaenchud nightmare, what the fuck do I know, yaar, what to tell you, help. Help.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg)

> ““Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose between monotheist and henotheist alternatives, and I'm just some idiot actor having a bhaenchud nightmare, what the fuck do I know, yaar, what to tell you, help. Help.””

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A speaker feels overwhelmed by divine demands and personal inadequacy, questioning their ability to respond.

**In simple terms:** Feeling powerless before higher expectations.

Key Takeaway

Seek clarity and humility when faced with impossible choices.

Themes

faith identity conflict humor

Mood

conflicted anxious ironic

Type

personal philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- creative writing
- spiritual questioning

Key Concepts

theodicy existential doubt self‑deprecation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance humor and sincerity in crisis?
- What can humility reveal about personal limits?

A Different Perspective

The humor may mask genuine distress, limiting sincere dialogue.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muhammad/) [Muslim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muslim/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [The lover is a monotheist who knows that other people worship different gods but cannot himself imagine that there could be other gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-reik/the-lover-is-a-monotheist-who-knows-that-other-people-worship/)

[Theodor Reik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-reik/)

> [“The first monotheist religion known to us appeared in Egypt, c.1350 BC, when Pharaoh Akhenaten declared that one of the minor deities of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-first-monotheist-religion-known-to-us-appeared-in-egypt-c-1350-bc-2/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“The average Christian believes in the monotheist God, but also in the dualist Devil, in polytheist saints, and in animist ghosts. Scholars of religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-average-christian-believes-in-the-monotheist-god-but-also-in-the/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [If I have to be a monotheist, y'know pick one, I'm picking vodka, it goes well with everything, all occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/if-i-have-to-be-a-monotheist-y-know-pick-one-i-m-picking-vodka-it/)

[Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/)

> [“The first monotheist religion known to us appeared in Egypt, c.1350 BC, when Pharaoh Akhenaten declared that one of the minor deities of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-first-monotheist-religion-known-to-us-appeared-in-egypt-c-1350-bc/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [Newton was a judaic monotheist of the school of Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/newton-was-a-judaic-monotheist-of-the-school-of-maimonides/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [In reality, the monotheist texts preach neither peace, love nor tolerance. They are texts of hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/in-reality-the-monotheist-texts-preach-neither-peace-love-nor/)

[Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/)

> [“All the three monotheist religions (Jewish, Christianity and Islam)claims that their God (Yahweh, God and Allah) created humans in a similar way: this indicates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajay-kansal/all-the-three-monotheist-religions-jewish-christianity-and-islam/)

Ajay Kansal

> [In Islam, we believe Jesus is a prophet and respect him and follow his teachings and put him beside the Prophet Muhammad - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haaz-sleiman/in-islam-we-believe-jesus-is-a-prophet-and-respect-him-and-follow-his/)

[Haaz Sleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haaz-sleiman/)

> [ ...he \[Muhammad\] declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind...The precept of the Koran is,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/he-muhammad-declared-undistinguishing-and-exterminating-war-as-a-part/)

[John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/)

> [Had Elijah Muhammad tried to introduce an orthodox form of Arab-oriented Islam, I doubt if he would have attracted 500 people, but he introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henrik-clarke/had-elijah-muhammad-tried-to-introduce-an-orthodox-form-of-arab/)

[John Henrik Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henrik-clarke/)

> [ I can hardly believe what these 12 caricatures \[about Prophet Muhammad\] have caused in the world. We Danes feel like we have been placed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/i-can-hardly-believe-what-these-12-caricatures-about-prophet-muhammad/)

[Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/)

> [I don't mind people want to think Muhammad is the greatest fighter around. Everybody wants to make him great because of his mouth, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/i-don-t-mind-people-want-to-think-muhammad-is-the-greatest-fighter/)

[Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/)

> [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/)

[John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/)

> [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

## More by Salman Rushdie

> [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

[Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## More Islam quotes

> [ Ben Carson also denounced \[Donald\] Trump's ban all Muslims proposal saying we do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/ben-carson-also-denounced-donald-trump-s-ban-all-muslims-proposal/)

[Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/)

> [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/)

[Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/)

> [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/)

[Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/)

> [Failure to find a way to incorporate political Islam in democracy, however uncomfortable its ideology is for secular liberals, will mean we have given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crispin-blunt/failure-to-find-a-way-to-incorporate-political-islam-in-democracy/)

[Crispin Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crispin-blunt/)

> [“God delights in beauty, Islam teaches at its core, and is beauty. Beauty is in creation, not destruction, and in balance. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/god-delights-in-beauty-islam-teaches-at-its-core-and-is-beauty-beauty/)

[Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/)

> [Allah will never humiliate the one who takes his Lord as friend and patron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/allah-will-never-humiliate-the-one-who-takes-his-lord-as-friend-and/)

[Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/)

[Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/)

> [ “\[T\]he people who are close to Allah worry so much about wasting time that they call themselves to account for every breath they spend… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethar-el-katatney/t-he-people-who-are-close-to-allah-worry-so-much-about-wasting-time/)

Ethar El- Katatney

> [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/)

[Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/)

> [The plight of the Baha'i community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/the-plight-of-the-baha-i-community-in-iran-has-served-as-a-backdrop/)

[Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/)

> [I am a woman, and as such, I experience the ever-increasing restrictions on our liberty in our country through the development of Islamic fundamentalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/i-am-a-woman-and-as-such-i-experience-the-ever-increasing/)

[Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/)

> [I saw Islam as the correct way to live, and I chose to try to live that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/i-saw-islam-as-the-correct-way-to-live-and-i-chose-to-try-to-live/)

[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/)

> [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/)

[Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/)

> [“No Hate Speech Online is a social media netiquette rule. Return hate in kind (ness) for proper netiquette. Love Muslims alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chiles/no-hate-speech-online-is-a-social-media-netiquette-rule-return-hate/)

[David Chiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chiles/)

[Browse all 6,032 Islam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose between monotheist and henotheist alternatives, and I'm just some idiot actor having a bhaenchud nightmare, what the fuck do I know, yaar, what to tell you, help. Help.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Salman Rushdie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-asking-me-to-choose-between/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Islam"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-asking-me-to-choose-between/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3af/salman-rushdie-153_islam_mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-askin_1907871.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Mahound comes to me for revelation, asking me to choose between monotheist and henotheist alternatives, and…” — Salman Rushdie",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Salman Rushdie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Mahound comes to me for revelation,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-asking-me-to-choose-between/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/mahound-comes-to-me-for-revelation-asking-me-to-choose-between/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
